1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a number plate and, more particularly, to a number plate that can be attached to a handlebar of a straddle type vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Often when a straddle type vehicle is used in racing competition, a front plate indicating a number is attached to the vehicle body. The front plate usually is secured to the vehicle by an upper bracket with screws or the like. However, when the vehicle is used over rugged terrain, the front plate often swings, which makes it hard to see the numbers and/or letter disposed on the front plate.
Prior art front plates, such as the one shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, attempt to resolve this problem. As shown in FIG. 1, a front number plate 100 has a body portion 101 and a band portion 102 at an upper part of the body 101. The band portion 102 is wrapped around a portion of a handlebar 103 to limit the swinging and/or twisting of the front number plate 100. The band portion 102 of the front number plate 100 as described above is typically made of plastic resin or the like, and thus is flexible so as to conform to the position and shape of any particular handlebar. The flexibility, however, also can result in movement of the number plate when a straddle type vehicle operates over rugged terrain. In addition, the band portion 102 may move around due to wind pressure, impacts that the vehicle receives during operation, or the like.
When the handlebar is a straight handlebar having a tension bar, a bar pad, which is wrapped around the tension bar, supports the band portion. As a result, the band portion is fairly rigidly attached to the vehicle. When the vehicle features a tapered handlebar, however, as shown in FIG. 2, a space 110 is created between the handlebar 103 and the band portion 102. The space 110 can result in reduced mounting rigidity for the band portion 102.
In some off-road straddle type vehicles (e.g., two-wheeled motor vehicles equipped with a two-stroke engine), when the engine speed is reduced, the rider typically increases the engine speed while the transmission is in a half clutch state and then engages the clutch. Because such an operating technique puts a heavy load on the clutch, the rider frequently adjusts the play in the clutch. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, some off-road two-wheeled motor vehicles have a clutch quick adjuster 106 located between a clutch lever 104 and a clutch cable 105 so that the rider can easily adjust the clutch play while operating the vehicle. The clutch quick adjuster 106 is designed to adjust the play in the clutch as a ring portion is turned, and is operable by the rider with one hand during operation of the vehicle.
As described above, when the handlebar is a tapered handlebar, the band portion 102 often is not tightly connected to the handlebar. Therefore, when the vehicle is used over rugged terrain, the band portion 102 might twist or otherwise deform. In such situations, the band portion 102 can get in the way of the rider's operation of the clutch quick adjuster 106. This is particularly problematic when the rider attempts to operate the clutch quick adjuster 106 with the right hand since the band portion 102 might somewhat obstruct access to the clutch quick adjuster 106, such as by covering the clutch quick adjuster 106.